The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast

Bosnia’s poker player at the World Cup – Plus Ceuta coach’s Rome pledge & Nauru’s 1 child 1 ball initiative

April 7, 2026·37 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

A former poker player has coached Bosnia to the World Cup!Sergej Barbarez has guided the Balkan country to the tournament in his first head coach role – at the expense of four-time champions Italy.So how did he go from the casino for the dugout? Why has qualification cost his striker Ermedin Demirovic €300,000? And how are Bosnia at a second World Cup without ever making the EUROs?In this episode, we explore brilliant Bosnia’s incredible journey and reflect on Iraq and DR Congo’s play-offs successes too. Plus, the Ceuta coach pledges to walk to Rome and Nauru launch their one child, one ball initiative.Nutmeg Magazine (You can buy the magazine for a special Sweeper discount rate of £10 by using the code 'sweeper' at checkout): https://www.nutmegmagazine.co.uk/product/issue-39/Nauru's 1 Child 1 Ball Initiative: https://stingz.co/pages/nauru-soccer-federation-one-child-one-ball-initiative?fbclid=IwY2xjawQ8cvxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEelDO7Gm-3sFxEpJ4A-iTsjaeuk0DmhnSSu4YoASfMxIsy-KbfggLYXbPp-qE_aem_QArFYavpkwgspTpT7riFWAChapters:00:00 – Intro01:26 – Bosnia’s poker-playing coach15:20 – Iraq’s 21-match qualifying campaign19:32 – DR Congo and the legend of Zaire23:39 – Nutmeg magazine’s World Cup issue26:24 – Ceuta coach’s pledge to walk to Rome31:40 – Nauru’s 1 child 1 ball initiative

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